Ireland will benefit from England defeat in the long run, reckons Lancaster

The dust has settled on the opening two rounds of this year’s Six Nations but it still isn’t clear as to where Ireland stand.

Out-thought and out-fought by England in Dublin, Joe Schmidt’s side scrapped and sometimes stuttered their way to a crucial win against the Scots in Edinburgh. Some have taken that as proof of normal service returned, while others see it as more cause for concern.